Beguiled Report Handling Procedure

Terms

A report is a communication from an
individual to Beguiled regarding an interaction
that violates, or may violate, Beguiled event
policies.

The ConCom (convention committee) is an
abbreviated name for the Beguiled board.

The consent team is a separate entity
from the ConCom charged with ensuring that
everyone involved in a consent-related incident
is heard, understood, and supported. The
consent team does not make decisions about what
actions should be taken after an incident.

A conflict of interest occurs when
someone who would normally handle a report is
faced with a report involving themselves or
someone with whom they have close personal
ties. In this case the person is said to be in
conflict and cannot be involved in the handling
of that report.

How to Submit a Report

Anyone may submit a report to Beguiled
involving possible violations of Beguiled event
policies. The best method of doing so depends
on the timing and nature of the report.

At the Convention

If an incident happens during the event, the
best way to report is in person. For
consent-related reports, you can approach a
member of the consent team directly and ask for
assistance; they are recognizable by their
green lined badges and consent team ribbon. You
can also approach a member of ConCom (purple
lined badges) or go to the 5th Floor Consuite
and ask to speak to someone on the consent
team. You do not have to provide any details
about why you are asking nor should any be
requested at this point. The person you ask
will locate an on- duty consent team member and
either escort you to them or have them meet you
in whatever location you designate. You can
also use the Beguiled Discord Server to contact
consent team and/or ConCom. If you prefer, you
can use email to make the initial report, but
the response time will be much longer.

For other types of policy violations, the best
way to report is to go to a member of ConCom
and let them know that you wish to report a
policy violation. You can also use the Beguiled
Discord Server to find ConCom during the event.
Email is an option, but it will take longer to
get a response because we aren’t able to check
email frequently during the event.

Before or After the Event

Before the event starts or once the event is
over, the best way to submit a report is via
email. To report a consent incident that
occurred at the event, email
beguiledcon.consent@gmail.com.
This email address goes directly to the consent
team lead and is not copied to anyone on the
ConCom.

You can submit a report to
beguiledcon.chair@gmail.com
for issues not involving a consent incident
that occurred at the event. This address is
used for reports such as:

Privacy or safety concerns either
before, during, or after the event

Consent incidents that happened outside
of Beguiled involving known or
potential attendees.

Other interpersonal issues that may not
rise to the level of a consent incident

Required Information

In order to be actionable, a report must
contain at least basic information:

The scene name(s) of the people
involved in the incident and contact
emails if known

A reasonably detailed recounting of the
incident as it occurred.

Some means of contacting the person
reporting the incident

If you are reporting an incident that happened
between other people, please also describe your
relationship to the people involved, if any
(e.g. close friend, acquaintance, play partner,
spouse, significant other, paramour/metamour,
total stranger) and whether you were a witness
to the incident or not. We reserve the right to
decline to process reports that are not based
on direct observation of an incident (for
example, “My friend X told me that Y violated
Z’s consent” — though we would likely contact Z
regardless to make sure they’re okay).

Anonymous Report

Anonymous reports are virtually impossible to
resolve in any meaningful way, so it is the
policy of Beguiled not to accept or act on
anonymous reports.

Reports Involving ConCom or Consent Team Members

When a ConCom member has a conflict of interest
involving a report, that ConCom member must
recuse themselves from all decisions involving
the report and is not permitted to access the
details of the report, including the identity
of the reporting person.

When a member of the consent team has a
conflict of interest involving a report, that
team member is not permitted to take part in
the handling of the report or to access
information about the report.

In an extraordinary case where a report creates
a conflict of interest for majority of the
ConCom, the ConCom may request that another
event’s ConCom handle the report to assure
objectivity. If a report creates a conflict of
interest for the entire consent team, Beguiled
may request that another event’s ConCom, or an
external consent-resolution organization,
handle the report to assure objectivity.

Report Handling

Consent incident reports involving events that
took place at Beguiled are handled directly by
the consent team. The consent team will:

Ensure that everyone involved is safe
and supported

Interview the individuals involved in
the incident and any direct witnesses
to determine as best they can what
happened

Submit a report to the ConCom
summarizing the information obtained

The consent team’s report is then reviewed by
the ConCom, who are solely responsible for
deciding whether corrective action is warranted
and what actions are appropriate to the
situation. Reports involving privacy,
harassment, consent incidents not occurring at
Beguiled, and other matters are handled by the
Beguiled ConCom, possibly with the assistance
of the consent team. In such cases, the
following process applies:

The ConCom designates a person to
manage the incident report (report
manager).

The report manager contacts everyone
involved in the reported incident to
take their statement as to what
happened.

The report manager reports back to the
ConCom with the facts as outlined by
the various statements.

The ConCom decides what actions to
take, if any, in response. The ConCom
has final say as to if something has
been a violation of con rules.

Some incidents may by their nature require us
to deviate from our usual process, in which
case we will do what seems to make sense for
that incident. Our default is to follow our
process as outlined. Neither the consent team
nor the ConCom will interview or take a
statement from anyone who does not consent to
that interaction. The consent team is never
tasked with drawing conclusions or making
recommendations when handling a report. In the
case of reports made by a third party, the
consent team will first check with the
individual(s) about whom the third party is
worried to see if they are ok and whether they
agree a violation may have occurred. After
speaking with the subject(s) of the report, the
third party will be notified that the consent
team has done so, however no further details
(including the decision whether or not to
proceed) will be shared unless the subject of
the report has requested differently.

Communication

While a report is being reviewed and processed,
someone in the group responsible for handling
the report will be a designated reporting
contact for the report. The reporting contact
is responsible for communicating regularly with
the reporting party to provide status and
answer any questions about the process. When
the ConCom reaches a decision on the report,
the reporting contact communicates directly
with the reporting party to convey what was
decided and what action(s) will be taken. The
ConCom, at its discretion, may inform other
event ConComs about consent-related incidents
and their resolutions.

Privacy

All reports are considered to be sensitive in
nature. Except for summarized reports to other
ConComs as described below, details of a report
are not released to others who are not directly
working on the report, except with the consent
of those involved in the report. The identity
of the person reporting is treated as
confidential and only disclosed to those with a
need to know.

Note: When handling a consent incident report,
the consent team will necessarily have to
describe to the person accused the general
nature of the incident, which may give the
accused sufficient information to deduce the
identity of the reporting person. Neither the
consent team nor the ConCom will ever confirm
or deny anyone’s guess as to who has filed a
report or disclose the identity of a reporting
person.

When an incident has potential to affect other
events, Beguiled will generally inform other
recreational hypnosis events about that
incident. The report takes the form of an email
to the ConCom of those events which includes
the scene name of the person found to have
violated policy, the nature of the policy
violation, and the action(s) taken by Beguiled
in response. Other details may be provided at
the other event’s request but will not include
the identity of the reporting person. In cases
where someone is accused of a consent violation
but cleared, Beguiled may communicate that
information to other event ConComs to offset
any reputation damage that may have been done
to the person(s) accused.

Resulting Actions

Repercussions will be based on the violation in
question, as well as well as any prior
violations by, or issues with, the person(s) in
question.

Repercussions that may result from a rules
or consent violation include, but are not
limited to:

A conversation or lesson about consent
basics (and/or other topics relevant to
the issue reported)

An official warning

Attendance Restrictions (described
below)

Immediate Removal from the event;

Any failure to follow these rules
will result in potential removal
from the convention without refund.

If removed or banned from the
conference after a ticket is
purchased, no refund will be
issued, no exception.

A ban from attending or teaching at the
con for a specific period of time,
including permanently.

The ConCom shall choose repercussions that
match the severity and frequency of the
found violations.

Beguiled works to maintain a close working
relationship with other hypnokink
conventions. Accordingly, unless the person
whose consent was violated requests it not
be shared, the ConCom may share the fact
that an individual was reported for a
consent violation, as well as the imposed
repercussions, with the committees/chairs
of those cons, and with groups local to the
individual in question. The ConCom may also
post a statement if the situation is severe
enough, though in such cases the ConCom
will consult with the person or persons
whose consent was violated to gain their
consent and to assist with maintaining
anonymity if requested.

Beguiled may elect to uphold bans from
other conferences.

Attendance Restrictions

Restricted class attendance

This restriction can be imposed on any
attendee to keep someone from attending
specific classes or evening events to
ensure the comfort of other attendees

Those placed under this restriction
will have their screen name on a list
of restricted persons given to the
presenter for the class(es) that they
are restricted from attending.

If someone who is restricted knowingly
attempts to attend the restricted
class, they will be removed from the
conference.

Volunteer Restriction or Ban

Volunteering is an additional privilege
- because volunteers receive perks and
are given extra responsibilities and
act as the face of the conference,
one’s ability to volunteer with the con
can be revoked or restricted even
without official reports.

Presenting Restriction or Ban

Presenting is an additional privilege.
Presenters are teachers and are seen as
role models, thus one’s ability to
present classes with demos or at all
can be revoked or restricted regardless
of whether official reports are made.

Restricted Play

In some cases the ConCom may decide
that a person may only play with other
attendees if negotiations are done in
front a dungeon monitor.

Those placed under this type of
restriction will need to consent to
allowing disclosure of their
restricted status to ensure that
the rules of their con attendance
are being followed.

People with this type of
restriction will have something
added to their badge as an
identifier.

ConCom may also bar a person from
public play in the public play spaces.

Restricted Interpersonal Interactions

A person may also be barred from
approaching or communicating with the
offended person(s) for the remainder of
the event.

Required Classes or Coaching

A person may be required to attend
specific classes or to receive
mandatory coaching relevant to the
offense.

Other

Every situation is different and
people’s needs are different. The
ConCom reserves the ability to impose
other restrictions as necessary to
ensure the safety of attendees and
compliance with hotel rules.

Bans and Returning to Con

A ban can be temporary or lifetime and the
amount of time and other details of the ban
will be shared with the person being
banned.

In the event of a temporary ban, at the end
of the ban, the banned person can request
to return to the event. The end of a
temporary ban and request to return does
not mean that a second chance will be
granted.

When such a request is made, the
injured party(s) will be contacted by a
member of ConCom or Consent Team and
asked for their input about the banned
person’s potential return.

These communications are not
binding, but serve to provide
injured parties a continued voice
and to assist in our decision
making process.

A person requesting to return must not
have had other issues during the time
of the ban and must show that they have
reflected on the cause of their ban.
They may also be asked to in some way
prove that they have changed in the
ways they claim.

A person returning from a ban may be
subject to attendance restrictions upon
return.

The ConCom reserves the ability to extend
or renew bans if information is presented
by another event /con or further reports
are ubstantiated showing that the banned
person has continued to behave
inappropriately.